Baku, Azerbaijan, February 26
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
Representatives of Turkey and Uzbekistan business circles held a meeting dedicated to the issues of further strengthening trade and investment cooperation, Trend reports via Uzbek media.
The visit was organized by the Parliament and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan alongside with the Association of Independent Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkey (MUSIAD).
The delegation included representatives of leading companies in Turkey in the fields of energy, construction, design, transport and logistics, information technology, tourism, and the chemical industry.
First Deputy Chairperson of Uzbek Parliament Sadyk Safaev, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Adham Ikramov, Vice President of the Turkish Business Platform Israfil Kuralay and others spoke there.
Nowadays, trade between Uzbekistan and Turkey has reached $2 billion, and the parties have many untapped opportunities to increase this indicator. Last year, over 250 Turkish companies opened their representative offices in our country.
As noted at the meeting, credit lines of international financial institutions, in particular, the World Bank at $3 billion and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development at $8 billion, are open to Uzbekistan. In addition, there are grant funds for joint projects.
Representatives of Turkish business were invited to actively cooperate in the development of medium and small businesses in Uzbekistan at the event.
“In our country, 60 percent of GDP is produced by small and medium businesses. In Turkey, this figure is 89-92 percent. We call on Turkish entrepreneurs to cooperate to increase the share of small and medium-sized businesses in Uzbek economy,” chairman of Uzbek Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ikramov said.
During the conversation, the parties exchanged views on the further development of cooperation in the fields of tourism, energy, light industry, transport and logistics. Guests are given a presentation on the potential of pilgrim tourism in Uzbekistan.
“We came to Uzbekistan with the aim of strengthening mutual trade relations. We know that a favorable investment climate has been created in your country. I would like to especially note that Turkish businessmen will make efforts to transform Uzbekistan into a trading and investment center for Central Asia,” Vice President of the Turkish business platform, Israfil Karayel said.
During the event, representatives of business circles of two countries held a meeting in B2B format.
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